


a rose by any other name still has thorns

by UncrownedKing



Series: chivalry [5]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Broken Bones, Captivity, Descriptions of Pain, Descriptions of wounds, Disassociation, Gen, Isolation, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts, Torture Mentions, and ive had this for about 2 weeks, death mention, lets see what remus is up to !, self-deprecation, sex mention, touch starvation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-23 08:36:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20005423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UncrownedKing/pseuds/UncrownedKing
Summary: warnings in the tags! and this takes place the day after damsel gets wrekt by dragon (3-4 days before the sides show up)as this is all im apparently capable of writing, this is 100% part of the chivalry is dead au, and it might be hard to understand if you haven't seen that one ;3;This wasn't the first time Creativity had split. Remus was wondering how upset Roman was, to want to go through that pain again.





	a rose by any other name still has thorns

The Imagination was fairly peaceful that morning. It felt like it shouldn’t have been so nice, the sky so clear, the birds chirping so calmly. He didn’t know who had created the serene setting. Was Roman still in control? He couldn’t have been, perhaps it was one of the other forms? The Damsel rested his forehead on the window’s glass, watching a cloud pass by the castle’s tower, and sighed. 

He was so, so lonely.

“This is new.”

The Damsel whipped around, hand on the hilt of his sword on instinct, before the second of pain caused him to yelp and clutch the wall for support. Curse these wounds. 

You’d wanted them, dumbass. You’d hoped Dragon could kill you. 

No matter. The Damsel felt hands grasp his waist, holding him up with a new amount of care, but they were hands, and they were too warm, and he was too warm, and he was burning. 

“Get off of me,” he hissed, stepping backwards, “Don’t-Don’t touch me, Remus.” 

The Duke blinked in surprise, but then clicked his heels together and stood up straight, shrugging. “Suit yourself, Brother Bear,” he sauntered closer, hips swaying in a way that made the Damsel concerned about if his spine was broken. “But what dragon chewed you up and spit you out? I thought you didn’t like things hurting your pretty perfect porcelain profile.”

Ironic. The Damsel looked out the window. He’d been placed in one of the tower rooms for now, as the Dragon said he would be discussing their battle royale with Remus in order to secure the dungeons (HIS dungeons, mind you, because Romans’ cell rooms were all up in the towers). They were hoping he’d find it….humorous, at least. Entertaining maybe. He’d always wanted Roman to tear himself apart. 

No, no he hadn’t. 

Yes he had. You’re fooling yourself. Ever since the Split, you and Remus have hated each other. 

You didn’t hate him. He hated you.

“The Dragon did,” he whispered, “It’s-It’s part of an arrangement. Don’t I deserve it?”

The Damsel looked up, brow furrowed and expectant of Remus’ vehement agreement. What he hadn’t expected was for his brother to meet his expectancy with a frown of worry. Of disagreement. 

“Who the fuck’s Dragon? Do you mean my witch?” Remus leaned on the wall, crossing his arms and frowning almost too seriously at him, “She does love a good fight but this is a li~ittle too much for her.”

He leaned forward, to push back the Damsel’s hair, but stopped when the Damsel recoiled his way back against the wall. What were you doing, Remus? You’re the evil one. That’s how the dichotomy worked. Remus cleared his throat and smiled, moving forward again with abandon and gripping the Damsel’s jaw roughly. “She knows I’m the only one allowed to kick your ass this badly,” he hissed.

The Damsel raised an eyebrow, but the way he was letting himself be manhandled was unnerving to Remus. Slowly, he tugged himself out of Remus’ hand, but didn’t move back anymore.

“We’ve….I need to be better. For Thomas,” he rested his head on the wall, watching Remus with a sad smile, “Has the Dragon met with you yet?” 

Now Remus was confused. He leaned on the bedframe, pondering for a moment about who this Dragon fellow might be. After all, the Damsel’d mentioned him a few times now, so he was probably important!

Was he, perchance, “Do you mean that guy with the horns who looks kinda like a Roman-rip off of me? With the horns and black sash?” 

He’d been chasing Remus around the castle but, given how little the Dragon seemed to know about the castle’s lay out, Remus had been able to give him the slip easy peasy. That, and Remus just so happened to casually get rid of the seventh floor central hallway, while he was standing in it. It was so fun to watch him fall off, and then turn into an actual dragon and fly back up to the main tower!

He should have probably assumed that, because the main tower was Roman’s bedroom, the guy who’d been chasing him was in some way related to Roman. But excuse him for being confused! It wasn’t every day that you suddenly have multiple twin brothers! The only way he could recognize this one as his REAL brother was because of that weird sad look he got sometimes. 

The Damsel had enough in him to look offended. “Excuse me? Your thing is the Kraken and oceans and sexual innuendos. The Dragon is clearly one of us.”

“Counterpoint,” Remus leaned forward, twirling his mustache with a hand, “My thing is single towers and swords and, oh, lookat that!”

Remus gestured to the sword at the Damsel’s waist, and the single tower on his arm. The Damsel looked at it — where his typical crest would be was the single tower, as though it’d been replaced, or the rest had been taken away — and he swore, covering it with a hand. He shot Remus a pained and angry glare. 

Of course his brother would point out how torn apart he was. As though he probably didn’t have something to do with it. 

Of course Remus wouldn’t be sympathetic to him. 

Why should he? He didn’t deserve anything akin to sympathy from anyone, especially not the Side who he was built to counter, the one he’d insulted, argued with, oh, god, Remus hated him. He hated him. 

The Damsel’s body shuddered, and he hung his head against his chest. “Roman?” Remus asked, voice too soft, too fucking soft, “Sorry, I just—you know, villain banter and all that—”

“Go find the Dragon. He’s-you’ll like him better. We’re going to have some fun.”

Oop. Fun? Like him better? 

No. No, Roman wasn’t dumb enough to do something like re-Split himself. No, no way! Remus laughed the thought off, waving his hand flippantly through the air, “Oh, it’s been fun watching him try and catch me, THAT’S for sure! But you’ve got to stop sending lil’ characters after me!”

“I….Split,” Remus’s eyes widened at the Damsel’s confession, oh, my fucking God, Roman WAS that dumb.

The Damsel slowly sat on his bed, hissing as he did so, as his back was still tender. It….felt weird, to say aloud to someone. Someone who understood how upsetting it was. How this situation would go.

And his back was turned to Remus. He didn’t want his brother — no, gosh darn it, he had to keep his inner monologue in check. Remus wasn’t his brother anymore. He was the Damsel, he wasn’t Roman, and he was going to die if all things went according to plan. He knew Remus didn’t like him, anyway. He’d probably be happy to have a new, more fun, more eccentric brother. Someone who could protect Thomas’ dreams. Someone who was….worth the time.

The bed squeaked as Remus sat down beside him. “Princey,” his voice was so fucking quiet that the Damsel flinched, losing his character-persona voice, “I thought we agreed that I got to be the villain. Thomas can’t have two dark creativities.”

“He’ll be more fun. It’ll-It’ll still be Roman, just a little different. You’ve always wanted that, something more than just a dull Prince,” Remus put a hand on the Damsel’s shoulder, and he stiffened like a brick, silencing any more banter. 

“I just wanted a brother.”

The Damsel didn’t dare look at his face. Who knew if he was lying or not. 

There was silence as that thought hung in the air around them, up until Remus snorted and shook his head. If Roman wanted to play the long game then so be it. They’ll have fun with it! If this was Roman telling him to have fun, well then, he’d have fun! And throughout their little game, Roman’d figure it out. Probably. Right? “Well, you went through the trouble of plotting a whole story! You do know how much I love adding a little spice,” he stood up, ruffling the Damsel’s hair as he did so, “A lot of effort for a Split, but Dukey boys make do.”

Help. The Damsel frowned. When did Remus help with anything?

Always. At least he could make things. An actually creative Creativity. 

It was weird, to feel both the biting judgement and the quick self-hatred. 

“Yeah,” the Damsel pulled his shoulder out of Remus’ hold and rubbed the back of his neck, “It-It would be….helpful. If you stayed with Dragon. He’s going to win this competition.”

“Mhm,” Remus didn’t sound convinced, but he didn’t sound very bothered, either, “Whatever you say, brother dearest.”

Oof, the sarcasm moniker. The Damsel looked up at him, his single eye blotched with tears. Subconsciously, he was memorizing Remus’ face. Who knew when the next time he’d see his brother was?

“....I will miss you,” he said, “When the Dragon wins.”

Remus tilted his head and, for a moment, Roman wished he’d spent more time with his brother. Sure, they weren’t supposed to spend time, but….they’d built this castle together. They’d built many worlds together. They had their own personal pet projects, but Roman always tried to be interested in Remus’, and same with Remus and his own. No one else saw their pet projects, anyway, and maybe they didn’t understand each other. But Roman did love him. He loved his brother. 

“You can’t get rid of me, Roman,” Remus’s hand came down a little too harsh on his cheek, but he still lifted the Damsel’s head up to meet his eyes, “And I can’t get rid of you. We know, we’ve both tried.”

The Damsel opened his mouth, but Remus pressed a finger to his lips, grinning and shaking his head. “So I’ll see you when all this is over, okay? Once you’re done throwing your temper tantrum? Once you’re all put back together?”

The unspoken affirmation hung in the air, like a broken promise. ‘No more splits, right?’

The Damsel couldn’t promise that. He couldn’t, not again. This wouldn’t be permanent — they couldn’t have THREE Creativities, Zeus forbid — but he didn’t have the confidence nor words to comfort Remus with. Apparently there was nothing else to do. The Damsel squinted at him, then bit Remus’ finger. Not enough to hurt, but enough for Remus to see and feel that he’d done That. 

It was the correct response. Remus’ eyes widened in an instant, and then he threw his head back, laughing aloud and boisterously. He patted the Damsel’s cheek again, more dismissive and airy than prior. Probably distracted by another thought. Contrary to popular belief, he was much more silent in the Imagination, when he wasn’t shouting to be heard. Here, the twins were free to just create. 

Not that the Damsel was doing much of it. Due to the severity of this split, he’d found he hadn’t any of Roman’s usual abilities. He couldn’t transport himself across the Imagination, couldn’t change much of the features, couldn’t conjure, couldn’t even create. He just knew things. Things he didn’t really want to know. And he thought, things he didn’t really want to think.

That was enough rumination, as Remus’ heels clicked on the ground back toward the exit. 

“I’ll see you once this is done,” Remus’ hand gripped the door frame, “We can binge watch some classics! The Black Cauldron! Beauty and the Beast! That Disney marathon we continue to dream about yet never achieve!”

“Remus,” the Damsel’s voice caught in his throat, and he cleared it again, “You–I don’t–I cannot promise that-that I’ll live through this.”

Remus’ grin widened. “You don’t have to promise anything. I know you will. Until then, I’ll be doing what I always do — wreaking HAVOC!”

Okay, the Damsel was feeling fairly soft until that statement. He frowned, raising a hand in a confused reach for his brother. “Havoc?”

Remus just winked, and ducked out of the doorframe. He had a Dragon to deal with!


End file.
